St. Clair County issues no burn ban

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ST. CLAIR COUNTY, IL (KPLR) –St. Clair County issued a ban on open burning Sunday in hopes of reducing brush fires. Firefighters serving unincorporated parts of the county report some 200 fires in March linked to outdoor burning or careless smoking.

One quickly extinguished brush fire in a yard north of Belleville could have spread to an apartment building. The East Side Fire Protection District responded to the call. The district`s Asst. Chief Lynwood Mueller said the property owner was burning branches and gum balls when the dry, windy weather caused the fire to spread. 'They could have burned up a neighbor`s fence, a shed and caught an apartment building on fire,' Mueller said.